July 4th marks Independence Day here in the United States, as the country celebrates it’s 232nd birthday. People across the land celebrate it in many different ways from gatherings and barbecues, spending time with family and of course watching fireworks.

I recall growing up outside of Chicago you could be in one place and see the fireworks from different cities in the western suburbs going off into the summer sky. Colorado has quite a few firework displays taking place in the metro area over the holiday weekend. The question is do you go to one, or head to the foothills to see them across the metro area as I recall growing up in the Chicago area.

Fireworks aside, the 4th of July is about the United States and one of the symbols of the country the American Flag. The following image was taken last year in Missoula, Montana.

On Wednesday of this week, I headed to the Denver Public Library to do some work. After a few warm days in the 90’s I figured it would be a nice change from my toasty office. Combining it with some errands downtown I headed out in the early afternoon and started working from the third floor taking advantage of the wifi available throughout the library.

After completing some items, I noticed I had my Canon G9 in my bag and gave myself an assignment. Without straying more than five feet from my spot, I needed to take some images. With the ambient light flowing through the windows this was harder than I expected. At first I looked out the window and noticed the clouds moving into the city as well as some downtown buildings across Civic Center Park . After not having good results, I focused my attention inside the library and grabbed the following images.

My Work Location

Others taking advantage of the Library as the light flows in the north facing windows.

I was noticing the different colors of the books from my spot, and then a patron appeared and started browsing in the stacks.

Matthew/Winters Park was the destination for this past weekends Hike for Discovery group hike. This was also a Friends, Family and Fido hike as participants in Hike for Discovery were able to invite others on the hike. Located next to Red Rocks Amphitheater just off of I-70 at Morrison Road Matthew/Winters Park is quite popular with hikers but also mountain bikers. As there was not much shade on the trails here it was nice it was a cooler day than the hikes the last few weeks. With blue sky over the foothills and threatening skies towards the city it made for an interesting contrast in the skies as we started to hike.

We started off on the Red Rocks trail and headed into the park going through meadows, small gulches and finally to the junction of the Morrison Slide trail. As we headed up the switch backs of the Morrison Slide trail we were greeted with more views of the surrounding area and out towards the plains. We also found less mountain bikers to contend with on this trail. At the top of the switch backs there was an open meadow leading towards the foothills west of the trail and the vista in the other directions. Descending down the Morrison Slide trail we reached the trail junction of the Red Rocks trail and took this over to the end of the trail near Highway 26. As we crossed the highway we quickly made up any elevation we had just lost as it was a steady climb up to the top of Dakota Ridge (aka hogback). Like last week at Heil Valley Ranch , it was quite obvious on the trail as we passed through the different layers of rock making up the ridge. As we reached the top we were welcomed with a view of C-470, as well as Green Mountain shown below. There was also signage showing us the different layers of rocks making up the ridge and other details about the area.

For the last two miles we hiked on the top of Dakota Ridge rolling with the terrain and contending with a rocky trail. This was one of the first trails I attempted to mountain bike upon moving to Colorado 11 years ago, and whenever I hike along the ridge I question why I did this trail first. Reaching a junction for the Zorro trail, we stopped and waited for the rest of the group to catch up for one last uphill section of the ridge and then back to the parking lot in the final mile. While waiting I took the following image of Chad (a fellow hiker) and his friend Tiffany who hiked with us this week.

As this trail was quite close to the city it was nice it was a little cooler, as the summer brings some additional warmth to our hikes. But overall the 6.8 mile hike was a nice short hike, as the upcoming group hikes will easily be twice this distance.

Heil Valley Ranch north of Boulder, Colorado was the group hike location this past weekend for Hike for Discovery gang. This nearly 5,000 acre open space park is in the lower foothills of Boulder County and attracts a wide range of wildlife, from rabbits and deer to bears and mountain lions. In the winter Elk migrating from the Indian Peaks Wilderness find their way to this open space location as well. With this wide range of species present there are plenty of warning signs for people using the open space.

Starting off at the first trailhead location we counted off and prepared for a warm day on the trails. Our first destination was the Lichen Trail which allowed us to see the changes in the geology was quite well with the different color of dirt on the trail. Upon completion of the 1.3 mile loop we ended up back at where we started and quickly joked about being done for the day, which was far from the truth for today. It was at this time we started up the Wapiti Trail now in some instances yielding to bicyclists. Hiking up a fire road, across meadows, over a small bridge with wild grapes growing near and into the ponderosa pines we progressed up the trail for 2.5 miles. As we reached the Ponderosa Loop some of the group went along the Ponderosa Trail to the overlook, while I was with the group which took the Wild Turkey loop to the overlook. The difference between the trails was the Wild Turkey loop added a little bit more distance to the hike as well as some greater elevation changes. After hiking the first part of the loop we noticed the hikers across the ridgeline that had gone on the Ponderosa Loop at the overlook meeting spot. The overlook was the spot for lunch, snacks and more so water during the hike. From the overlook we could see Longs Peak once again in the distance, some other peaks in the Indian Peaks Wilderness, as well as the general area of last weeks group hike.

After the break we completed the Wild Turkey loop which was a total of 2.9 miles and started back down towards the trailhead on the Wapiti Trail. Towards the end of the trail we left the pines and emptied out into small meadows which allowed us to quickly feel the warmness of the day, but an occasional breeze did help the situation.

As we made it back to the fire road our hike leader Zoe decided to throw in another Lichen Loop for us so we could add another 1.3 miles to the hike. With the gradual up and down on the trail it seemed more like interval training at that stage of the day.

Anyways we completed the loops and were ready to head back to the trail head for good this time and go to a nearby Mexican restaurant to get a bite to eat, a drink of water and possibly something stronger. For the day we did a little over 10.5 miles in summer conditions, which weren’t that bad as they originally forecasted the day being warmer.

This past weekend as I continued on with the Hike for Discovery program, we did a group hike at Button Rock Preserve and Hall Ranch near the town of Lyons. Starting out with a two mile hike towards the dam, we then proceeded to hike up a trail from the base of the dam to get to lake level and see Longs Peak in the distance. Longs Peak is one of the options for us on the finale hike in Rocky Mountain National Park this September. After spending some time at lake level we headed back down to the base of the dam and on the Sleepy Lion Trail. As we climbed in elevation and higher than the dam we were rewarded with views of the reservoir as well as Longs Peak.

We then reached the cutoff to Hall Ranch where we hiked in the Boulder County Open Space for two miles. As we headed through trees and finally out into an open meadow we did not realize the view until we turned around and were treated with an unexpected view of Longs Peak, Mt. Meeker as well as other mountains in Rocky Mountain National Park and the Indian Peaks Wilderness.

After a short break we hiked a little over four miles back to the cars and then on for a well deserved drink and meal on a warm June day. For the day we hiked just over nine miles.

When I talked to her this morning to wish her a happy birthday she was bouncing off the walls knowing her party was today. She even sang Happy Birthday to me over the phone, of course including her name even if it was Happy Birthday to You. Unfortunately with everything going on this month I was unable to make it out to the party this year, but I did see her two weeks ago in Chicago and took some pictures.

While flying home from Las Vegas a couple of weeks ago, I decided it would be interesting to grab a window seat and take some images. Thinking about the direction of flight and where the sun would be located I decided the ‘F’ seat would make the most sense and just hoped we would have some clear skies as we traveled east towards Denver. Being a passenger and take a pictures out of a window in an airplane further limits the control you may have in regards to taking an image. Not only do you not have control of the light and sky conditions as normally is the case while outdoors you also don’t have control of your location, the direction facing, obstructions (i.e. engine, wing and dirty window) and a clean window to name just a few. Also did I mention you are moving at a quick rate of speed so grabbing the image you see is limited in time. My main objective while take images on this flight was to compose some interesting scenes I was passing by at 35,000 feet.

The following images are a few of the many I took during the flight of under two hours using a Canon G9 point and shoot camera.

The unofficial start of summer is here, and you may have completed your spring cleaning or it may be still on the to do list. Either way if you have or know you will have a pile of stuff which will needs to be removed you should check out College Hunks Hauling Junk .

College Hunks Hauling Junk originally started in the Washington DC area, but they now have franchisees across the country. Before hauling that demo material, old carpet, yard waste and most other items to the dump they try to recycle the materials or donate it to one of their partners.

I became familiar with CHHJ through their Denver franchisee who I have done some photographic work for in the past. So if there is a job which is producing some waste and you don’t want to have a rolloff dumpster in your driveway check them out.

Tomorrow a new group of photographers will start the 20th Summer Intensive program at the Rocky Mountain School of Photography . This will mark one year since I made the leap from a software consultant to a photographer. A lot has changed in the course of the last year and the five months I spent in Missoula, Montana. I am now pursuing a career in photography and am fulfilled in doing so. While has been great, so has keeping in contact with the people I met and spent time with while in Missoula.

One year later, I still keep in close contact with the fellow photographers in my group as we share and critique images, in addition to acting as a sounding board as we move forward with our photography from Scranton to San Francisco to Dallas and as high up as Aspen and many places in between. I also keep in contact with a few people outside my initial group and am constantly stunned by the images they are producing also keeping me inspired as I move forward.

The decision to head to Montana for the summer was one which I didn’t know was the correct decision, but sitting here in Denver a year later and looking at the direction I am going I can certainly say it was the right decision.

The following image was taken this past Thanksgiving morning from Coronado looking back at the skyline of San Diego, and is now featured on the cover of the 2008 Membership Guide for the San Diego Association of Law Libraries. As this is a horizontal it is presented as a wrap on the guide which is sent to all of the members of SANDALL.